Amanda Kandawire-Khoza
Nominee's Province:
Gauteng
Project Name/Description:
Founder of Fly Like A Girl and Layover Art - Digital Illustrator, Commercial Pilot and Entrepreneur
For commercial pilot Amanda Kandawire-Khoza, flying aircraft has been her dream ever since she first flew as a passenger at the age of five. In the 13 years of flying as a licensed pilot, she has clocked hours in the cockpits of SA Express, South African Airways, and has moved to Dubai-based Emirates where she became the first black South Africa woman to fly an A380 plane. However, Emirates would ground the passenger side of business as the pandemic ravaged the world, clipping her wings just a year after joining the airline. When she left Dubai, she was on a mission. She founded two businesses, Layover Art, where she creates art-curated products and handmade earrings, as well as Fly Like a Girl, which aims to expose children to the wonderful world of aviation through the use of educational toys. A self-taught digital illustrator, she also created the podcast cover art for She Brigade, a platform women use to share their stories of triumph. Kandawire-Khoza was part of the 100 Brightest Young Minds SA in 2014 and was the recipient of the CEO Magazine’s Most Influential Woman in Aviation in 2018/19.
